FROM INTERN TO EMPLOYEE

Discover how Jebsen Industrial paves the way for career growth and professional development for its interns from different countries

Grooming and developing young talents to fulfill business needs is a common HR talent management strategy but Jebsen Industrial takes this further. Rather than a HR-driven approach, line managers have come to embrace internships as opportunities to grow and strengthen their teams.

By treating interns as a small but essential part of the team, what Jebsen Industrial has achieved is a win-win situation – eager young interns have a platform to grow quickly while the company develops a talent pipeline in multiple specialisations to serve its diverse business needs.

“Interviews are hardly the best way to gauge the potential and capacity of young candidates. We take the internship programmes as a precious opportunity and a highly effective tool to identify those who fit well with the Jebsen culture,” explained Mr Addison Tao, HR Manager of Jebsen Industrial.

For this process to work, however, line managers need to share the company’s conviction of developing talent from an early stage. Many do, including Mr Samuel Zhang, Department Manager, Spare Parts from Technical Services Division: “I like interns. Fresh graduates may lack experience but they are eager to learn and quick to adapt to the company’s culture and business model.”

This company-wide consensus has helped Jebsen Industrial built a reputation among young graduates for being a great place to work. Feedback from past interns have credited its flexible work environment, embedded coaching culture, clear goals and individualised targets to be beneficial to young graduates as they take their first step into the professional world. Knowing that there is a real possibility of being offered a formal employment contract after their internship has also motivated many to excel.

This was the path that Ms Penny Lu, a Masters degree holder in Science & Technology Philosophy, took. After completing her internship with the Spare Parts Department, she officially joined Jebsen Industrial as a Sales Executive in April 2014. Her work portfolio now encompasses bidding, technical consultation and product marketing.

Reflecting on her time as an intern, during which Mr Zhang was her mentor, she expressed her appreciation for his generous support. “He gives me the space to learn and grow without imposing too much pressure,” she said. The experience has also shaped her career goals, as she aspires to become an expert in the engines business.

Jebsen Industrial, as a business bridge between the East and West, also attracts talent from diverse cultural backgrounds. Mr David Sheu, born in Taiwan and raised in the US, joined Jebsen Industrial in Hong Kong as a summer intern before securing a Sales Executive position with the Broadcast & Cinematic Solutions Department in Shanghai.

Like many other interns, he thanks his supervisor for enriching his internship experience: “I learnt from Mr Philbert Chin, Head of Business Development, how to think strategically and how to propose solutions when encountering problems.”

Any cultural differences were also smoothed over as Mr Sheu shares that the Jebsen Industrial people he met during his internship were as welcoming and supportive as Mr Chin. This “team spirit”, as he terms it, made his first foray into the corporate world a deeply meaningful experience.

Sharing a similar view is Ms Connie Luong, who left Germany for a marketing internship with Jebsen Industrial in Hong Kong. She has since joined the company as a Marketing Executive, being involved in businesses focussing on the Hong Kong, Mainland China and Southeast Asia markets. According to Ms Luong, the patience, support and guidance that she received from Manager of Marketing & Communications Rita Ng and her colleagues was instrumental in helping her understand how to approach and manage her work. “I was motivated by the opportunity to improve and to build a strong base in marketing which is the field I wish to be in,” she said.

Jebsen Industrial has regular internship programmes through which it seeks to engage and groom the next generation of talent for Greater China.